


Juniberries

by strawberrylovely



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Past Allurance and Adashi, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Season/Series 08 Finale, Pre-Relationship, Year of Shance 2019, shance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 21:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17795225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylovely/pseuds/strawberrylovely
Summary: It’s been a few years since Allura sacrificed herself to save every reality. Lance is still living on the farm with his family, keeping to the juniberries and waiting for the next Voltron reunion. He just doesn’t expect to see one of his former teammates coming to visit so soon.





	Juniberries

**Author's Note:**

> i know i said it’s canon compliant but i’m pretending curtis doesn’t exist, i’m sorry curtis i still love you
> 
> also HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY it’s so late but it’s still v-day in my time zone ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)ᵒᵏᵎᵎᵎᵎ
> 
> please enjoy!!

The sun beat hot on Lance’s back as he bent down in the grass. A few of the juniberry flowers had begun to wilt, the heat too much for their delicate petals now that summer was in full force. He plucked a few of the worst ones and tossed them in his basket, hoping to maintain their beauty for at least a few more days by bringing them inside away from the harsh sunlight.

He hadn’t seen a wilted juniberry in years, not since- Well, he’d rather not think about that. He had a whole field to remind him of the good days. The days when Allura was still with them, laughing with them. She’d been gone a while now, but every time Lance looked out into that field, he could see her smile.

And so he smiled back, adjusting his sun hat as he stood back up to gaze over the waves of pink beyond him. Past the barn where Kaltenecker was napping and the house where his mother was most likely smacking the hands of the other McClain men who would be hovering around the still-cooking dinner. Over the small hill, and circling the tree he and his siblings used to climb on sunny days after school. The blossoms stretched far and wide, reaching all the way to the fence that enclosed their property.

The fence where a figure stood leaning against and waiting to be noticed.

Lance would be lying if he said he recognized immediately who the silhouette was, despite the arm that gave it away even from a distance. He just never would have expected the former captain of the Atlas to show up so suddenly.

Millions of questions raced through Lance’s mind as he laid down his basket and gloves with it. Questions like “What are you doing here?” and “Am I missing something?” and “Is everything okay?” But as the man made his way across the field, Lance couldn’t voice a single thing to call out to him. Instead, he just waited, hand on his hip and hoping the sweat on his brow didn’t stand out too much as he watched the sun’s rays reflect a contrasting yellow to the blue glow of Shiro’s prosthetic.

As he got closer, Shiro looked up and met Lance’s raised eyebrow with a grin of his own, the two sharing some amusement from making the man walk all the way to meet in the middle of the field.

“Hey, Lance,” he said softly.

“You’re early,” Lance responded, taking in Shiro’s loose button up and frankly too formal of pants to be on a farm. “Reunion dinner isn’t for another few months.”

He shifted his weight, letting his hand fall from his hip and hang by his side insecurely, suddenly nervous by Shiro’s unannounced presence.

“I know, I’m not here for that.”

Shiro’s smile fell and he looked at Lance with those grey eyes of his, the same sadness fogging them as always, even when he laughed. But he wasn’t laughing now.

“Alright, who is it, then?” Lance said, eager to get to the point. “Is it Coran? If it’s Coran, at least let me sit down first.”

“What?” Shiro asked, puzzled. “No, it’s not-”

“Wait, is it one of the Blades? Shiro, don’t tell me-”

“Lance, no.” Shiro cut him off, holding a hand out to stop his grief before it began. “No one’s dead and no one is dying. Don’t worry. I’m not here for that either.”

The wind blew in the silence that followed, rustling the ends of Shiro’s silver hair and the juniberries surrounding them. Lance held onto his hat to prevent it from flying away into the nearing sunset. As his eyebrows knit together, he looked again at the man standing before him. Shiro seemed tired, which, as someone who was more intimate with death than most people yet somehow still made it out alive, wasn’t unusual. What _was_ unusual was seeing him standing there in the middle of June at the McClain family farm without any explanation for showing up.

“Why are you here, Shiro?” Lance finally asked with a tilt of his head.

The former captain looked to the ground as a breathy laugh left his lips. He scuffed the grass with the toe of his boot, careful not to hit any of the flowers Lance had been cultivating meticulously the past few years. His eyes must have caught one in particular, because he bent down to pick a flower next to Lance’s foot.

“I don’t know,” he finally said, staring at the small plant being twirled between his fingers. “To see you.”

“Me?” Lance asked incredulously. “Why me?”

“I missed you,” Shiro said with certainty, meeting Lance’s eyes as if his statement was obvious.

Lance smiled to himself, letting go of his hat now that the wind had died down.

“I missed you, too.”

“We’ve both… been through a lot. Lost a lot,” Shiro looked back to the juniberry, its petals not unlike the ones in Lance’s basket. “Not that the others haven’t, it’s just… I know it can be difficult. Losing someone you love like that.”

Lance felt tears welling up in his eyes but quickly pushed them away. He’d lost Allura just like Shiro had lost Adam, both the people they’d wanted to marry someday. Hearing Shiro’s explanation honestly made Lance wonder why they hadn’t talked about it sooner, shared stories and maybe helped each other cope during hard days.

But it was better now. It was easier to get out of bed most mornings, and Lance no longer felt tied to a hopeless dream. He figured Shiro probably felt the same.

“Look, I don’t know if… That is to say, I’m not sure whether you-” Shiro released a breath and started again. “I worry about you,” he said. “I just hope you’ve finally found some happiness.”

“I have. My family gives me something to smile about even when I don’t feel like it. And I have the juniberries.” Lance gave a lingering look to the field, as if Allura herself was standing in the midst. “I know she’s not here, and I know she won’t ever be, but. Seeing this would make her happy. And just the thought makes me happy.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Lance knew he would love Allura forever. A love like that doesn’t just go away, even when the person does. He and Shiro could relate in that sense, and the longer the man stood there, eyes trained on every movement Lance made, he knew it wasn’t the only thing.

They’d want them both to move on, to find joy in life even without them. It didn’t mean Shiro and Lance had to forget but, it meant they were allowed to love again, to smile and seek out someone to make the hard days easier.

That’s what really brought Shiro to the farm that day.

“What about you?” Lance asked, picking up his basket and looping it around his arm.

Shiro raised his eyebrows in surprise, obviously not expecting the same to be asked of him.

“I’m… still searching.” The former captain had a distant look in his eye as he spoke, but it only lasted a short moment before his focus returned to Lance with a grin. “But, I’m smiling now, aren’t I?”

“You are,” Lance agreed warmly. “And… what about love? Have you found love, Shiro?”

Shiro’s laugh floated along the quiet breeze.

“Not yet,” he said. “Still looking for that as well, but… I have a feeling it’s not too far away.”

He swirled the juniberry once more in his hand, then brought it up to Lance’s face, comparing the lines of the flower’s petals to the faint lines sneaking their way into Lance’s perfect skin. His fingers pushed the brunet’s hair behind his ear and used the stem to keep it held, blossom facing outwards to frame his face.

Lance could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. He hadn’t felt another hand on his face in so long, and the way Shiro didn’t hesitate to bring his fingers down to touch the markings left behind on his skin was the gentlest thing he’d ever seen the other man do. He couldn’t help but blush.

Shiro’s human thumb traced the outline of the small mark, differing from Allura’s only in color. “They match your eyes,” he said quietly.

They shared a look, one of all the pain and heartache they’d gone through, now eased by the other’s presence. A moment passed and Shiro’s hand fell away, leaving a warm spot against Lance’s cheek. He cleared his throat apologetically as the hand made its home in the front pocket of his pants.

Lance smiled, and adjusted the basket on his arm as he spoke.

“It’s almost dinner time, you should come inside.” He nodded his head towards the house.

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude-”

“You’re family, Shiro,” Lance cut off any negations the other man would try to give him. “You’re always welcome.”

He gestured again behind him, turning only when Shiro took a definitive step forward. Together they walked toward the house, leaving the heat and the golden sunset behind them. Their hands grazed against one another’s as they chatted about what Mrs. McClain was cooking for dinner, and if Lance wrapped his pinkie around Shiro’s while they talked, well, he just hoped Veronica wouldn’t tease him about it later.

**Author's Note:**

> Lance: Would you like to stay for dinner?  
> Veronica, sticking her head out of the kitchen window: WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER?
> 
>  
> 
> Happy Valentine’s Day! I know it’s not a super lovey-dovey ending but, they do eventually get together (maybe even that night ;)) Also, if you enjoyed this fic please remember that comments are fic writers’ lifeblood! So please let me know how this little story made you feel. Thank you so much! <3


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